Public rights of way - Print version

Public rights of way allow people to walk or travel over areas of land. Public footpaths are for pedestrians only. Public bridleways are for pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists. There are two types of public byway; restricted byway and byway open to all traffic.  A restricted byways may be used by users on foot, horseback, pedal cycle and pony and trap.  A byway open to traffic may be used by the same users as a restricted byway and may also be used by mechanically propelled vehicles.

Rights of Way Improvement Plan (RoWIP)

We must produce a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (RoWIP) [/downloads/download/2811/rights_of_way_improvement_plan] (please ignore any reference to "Draft"). The Plan includes how the local rights of ways will be looked after and improved.

Check if a path is a public right of way

If you want to check whether a path is a public right of way, please contact us and give us details of where the path is and we will check for you.

Land owners may make a declaration about the public rights of that cross their land under Section 31(6) of the Highways Act 1980.  Once the application is submitted the land owner is required to submitted a declaration to the Council within 20 years stating that no new public rights have been dedicated.

 The Council charges £400 per application.

These documents are available on a public register [/directory/29/highways_act_1980_s31a_public_register].

We are also required to maintain a register of applications for Definitive Map Modification Order [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/2812/definitive_map_modification_order_applications]. The Definitive Map Modification Order list [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/2812/definitive_map_modification_order_applications] shows applications and the dates they were received by us.

Further information on the individual claims can be inspected by contacting us.

Local Access Forum

We are currently a member of the Warwickshire, Solihull and Coventry Local Access Forum. [http://laf.warwickshire.gov.uk/]